Iverson Hall village of Tideburgh in Norfolk its Rupert Iverson's fancy dress birthday party for twenty four guests the theme is louis XIV sun king, and the next morning Rupert is found dead in the swimming pool.
D.I.Sam Clayton and D.S. Julie Everett are sent straight over its a murder investigation, with another body of Iris Haggett on the beach who had a dispute over her home with Dennis Iverson are they both linked?
Wow so much happening and unfolding as you read this book. so many Suspects, I loved the story and gives you such a kick so many changes happen throughout, I just loved it, it's brilliant .

A fun to read cozy mystery set on the coast. When a 25 year old son of the rich town council member is killed the pair of Detectives Sam Clayton and Julie Everett are brought in to solve it. First I've read in the series (believe this is book 4) but overall wasn't lost. Book did drag a bit in the middle, but skimmed over and kept on going as I wanted to see how it played out. Interesting twist with all party members dressed as members of King Louis IV's court, as that is not something I know much about. Would recommend this book and author.

I like Anne Penketh books. Nothing too gory. Gory is good if that's your mood, but sometimes a gentler story is in order. For all of that she covers quite a few of the current problems in her books - racism, climate change, homophobia, farming stress - yet in an unpreachy way.

Really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read an advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Murder at the Manor is the 4th book in the DI Sam Clayton series. Although it would be helpful to read the back story on the characters in the earlier entries, this really does work as a standalone book. There’s a good plot featuring a fancy dress party based on the court of Louis XIV, with meaning attached to who should wear the costume of the characters. The party ends in murder and the police are left to dig past the lies and secrets to discover the murderer. There is also some interesting commentary about eroding coastlines, and how that impacts people.

Murder at the Manor - Anne Penketh

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Has a village feud led to murder? Or is the killer closer to home?

Rupert Iverson is found dead in the swimming pool of his North Norfolk manor house, dressed as Louis XIV.

He was hit over the head with a blunt object and held under the water.

More than one of the twenty-four guests has motive — as do several of the local villagers, who have been feud¬ing with Rupert’s father.

This book starts out full of promise with a murder at a party. The story seems to drift off at a tangent in the middle into an unrelated investigation. When it is finally brought back on track it is difficult to see why the story just stay on the same plot.

This is my introduction to this series, even though this is book four, so the issues I faced could be down to my lack of familiarity with the author and characters.

Overall it is an easy plot, relatively easy to follow and comes to a satisfying ending.

Rating 3/5

The book itself started off full of promise, we were first introduced to the Iverson family and the intriguing fancy dress party being held at the Manor with the theme of The Court of The Sun King. We then move straight on to DI Sam Clayton and DS Julie Everett who are on their way to the Manor after reports of a murder. These first two chapters really set the scene, the language was fluid, not too descriptive and the dialogue was easy to follow, it made me want to read on. But that didn’t last.
For me the storyline went off on a tangent in the middle, the detectives started to investigate an area in their enquiries which was obviously irrelevant and held no purpose to the murder, it became very repetitive. Eventually though it was brought back on track and you couldn’t help wondering why they didn’t follow the obvious route to begin with. I do think a lot more could have been done with the themed party storyline, it was touched upon slightly and it could have given a lot more scope for some twists and turns to be added

This is my first-time reading Anne Penketh, I am not familiar with this series and I found I really struggled with the characters. They didn’t really have any back stories to any of them and I caught myself wondering if I had missed something because they would jump to conclusions without proof. As an example, there is a line in the book where Julie is talking about her boss, she describes him, unfoundedly, as racist ‘like a lot of policemen.’ There is no reasoning given for this and because of lines like this I found the main character Julie to be really annoying, she was very self-absorbed, judgemental and with a huge persecution complex. I found it hard to take to her as the leading character. The other characters in this book were all likeable and served a purpose but they were also flat and two dimensional. I finished the book not knowing a great deal about any of them.
Overall, it was an easy read, a cosy mystery that wraps everything up at the end. It can certainly be read as a standalone book if you haven’t read the other three in the series. However, ‘A gripping crime thriller with a killer twist’ as described on the cover, it really isn’t.

An interesting psychological murder mystery set in Norfolk, incorporating real life issues. Namely the decline of the large country manor and having to hire the manor out for parties much to the annoyance of the neighbours.
Coastal erosion and the risk of properties falling into the sea and residents whose property is at risk not wanting to leave and a fancy dress party based on Versailles a historical drama series on television.
There is lots of content, intrigue and red herrings which kept me guessing. An intelligent read which stayed with me.

Who Killed Rupert Iverson….?
It’s up to DI Sam Clayton and DS Julie Everett to untangle the clues in this thoroughly enjoyable addition to the series when a fancy dress party at a local Manor House, and based upon the Court of Versailles, leads to an untimely death. A wholly engaging mystery with a credible cast of characters and an entertaining plotline. Tops the series to date.

Good book! I definitely enjoyed reading this book! It had suspense, intrigue, and a great storyline! I would definitely recommend reading this book, it wasn't one of my top favorites but still worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!